That's not a bad take on it. If you have enough budget for a decent used instrument then so much the better. If ultimately it's not the right one, you won't lose a lot of cash selling. But I agree with Christian that as long as don't buy some unplayable lemon, it doesn't matter too much what it is to get going.
My personal recommendation would be for a used PRS SE. They come in single cut Les Paul style or Strat shapes. Very well built guitars for the money. Should be able to pick up a good example for £250 or maybe less. eg:
PRS SE Soapbar Cherry Singlecut - Dunlop, Bareknuckle, Schaller, Hiscox
PRS SE Soapbar II, Vintage Cherry Finish, P90s, Amazing Guitar, Bargain!
But there's also the chance of buying a lemon as you don't know what to look for. Whereabouts are you? May be someone close by who could help you out buying used.
For a starter amp you can't go too far wrong with a Roland Microcube. Only 2W but plenty loud enough for practice. Also has a headphone socket & can run from AA batteries, so fully portable. Around £50 used from Ebay.
Yep not worth buying new for a starter amp, around 50 quid will get you something decent. If you look at the ebay sold prices you won't go too far wrong and you can easily sell on when you want something better. Amps can be bulky and expensive to post so you can pick up some real bargains.
Modelling amps like the Vox VT, Fender Mustang, Rolland cubes, Blackstar ID, Peavy Vypr are a good place to start. For solid state a Marshall MG and Orange Crush sound good too. For portable battery amps the Blackstar fly and Mustang Mini would be my pick at that price - I still own both/play both even though I have much better amps.
Thinking of asking for Rocksmith for my birthday in February, just started to learn guitar again, I'm not a complete beginner, but not far off.
What do I need for Rocksmith besides a guitar and X1?
And does it improve you, or is it a little gamey?
You'll need the RealTone cable, but that should be bundled with the game.And yes, it will definitely help you to improve.There are some very useful tools within the software to aid your progress.I'd say go for it data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
I appreciate the suggestions for used but I think I'll avoid eBay.
You could try Gumtree...I bought a nearly new Telecaster locally for less than half price an it came with loads of spares (iPad accesories, small practice amp and a brand new Boss tuner).
You could even put a wanted ad in the classifieds here, though I'm never really sure where is the best place for musical instruments.
yeah always a lot on gumtree..
I wouldn't totally dismiss ebay...I got a 6 week old telecaster for half the price of a new one.
the main thing I've found with guitarists is they're a very friendly bunch with a great deal of enthusiasm especially for us new players starting out so i do think you most likely to find good sellers out there.
you do hear of fakes ..but I'm guessing that would be the higher end market
...plus theres loads of 'hardly' played ones out there.
a wanted ad on here is worth a punt ....along with a location...bound to be someone on here close to you.
Is that used in general or just Ebay?
Have you decided on electric of acoustic?
Have you set a budget?
How about this?
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Only kidding but might be just what @AndrewH13 needs to give his dodgy shoulder a workout. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Used off ebay.
I've both bought and sold guitars off ebay.Never had a problem, as I only ever deal with people with exemplary feedback.Few folk want to dent their feedback with dubious sales.